LaTeX Academic Paper Builder

A skill for building and managing LaTeX academic papers, particularly for machine learning and computer vision research, with full Chinese and English language support.

What This Skill Does

This skill helps you compile LaTeX academic papers using XeLaTeX (for multilingual support) or PDFLaTeX (English-only), manage bibliographies with BibTeX, and work with standard academic paper structures including IEEE conference formats and technical reports.

Repository Structure

The skill expects this directory layout:

```

project/

├── src/ # LaTeX source files

│ ├── paper.tex # Main document

│ ├── refs.bib # Bibliography database

│ └── *.tex # Other LaTeX files

├── out/ # Compiled outputs (auto-created)

└── pic/ # Figures (pdf/png/eps)

```

Build Commands

Quick Compile (Single Pass)

For draft builds without bibliography updates:

```bash

XeLaTeX (supports Chinese + English)

xelatex -output-directory=out -synctex=1 -interaction=nonstopmode -file-line-error src/paper.tex

PDFLaTeX (English only)

pdflatex -output-directory=out -synctex=1 -interaction=nonstopmode -file-line-error src/paper.tex

```

Full Build with Bibliography

For complete builds with properly resolved citations:

```bash

Manual full build

xelatex -output-directory=out src/paper.tex && \

bibtex out/paper && \

xelatex -output-directory=out src/paper.tex && \

xelatex -output-directory=out src/paper.tex

Using latexmk (recommended)

latexmk -xelatex -output-directory=out src/paper.tex

```

Clean Build Artifacts

```bash

latexmk -c -output-directory=out

```

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Initial Setup Check

Before compiling, verify the environment:

2. Determine Compiler Choice

**Use XeLaTeX when:**

**Use PDFLaTeX when:**

3. First-Time Compilation

For a new document or after adding citations:

```bash

Step 1: Initial LaTeX pass (generates aux files)

xelatex -output-directory=out -synctex=1 -interaction=nonstopmode src/paper.tex

Step 2: Process bibliography

bibtex out/paper

Step 3: Second LaTeX pass (resolves citations)

xelatex -output-directory=out -synctex=1 -interaction=nonstopmode src/paper.tex

Step 4: Final LaTeX pass (resolves cross-references)

xelatex -output-directory=out -synctex=1 -interaction=nonstopmode src/paper.tex

```

Or use the automated approach:

```bash

latexmk -xelatex -output-directory=out src/paper.tex

```

4. Iterative Editing Workflow

For quick draft iterations:

```bash

Single compile (fast, but citations may show as [?])

xelatex -output-directory=out -synctex=1 -interaction=nonstopmode src/paper.tex

```

When citations or cross-references are added/changed, run the full build again.

5. Troubleshooting Compilation Errors

If compilation fails:

1. **Check the log file**: `out/paper.log` contains detailed error messages

2. **Common issues**:

- Missing packages: Install with `tlmgr install <package-name>`

- Image not found: Verify paths in `pic/` directory (use `../pic/` from `src/`)

- Bibliography errors: Ensure `refs.bib` syntax is valid (check for unmatched braces)

- Chinese font issues: XeLaTeX requires system fonts; check with `fc-list :lang=zh`

3. **Clean build and retry**:

```bash

latexmk -c -output-directory=out

latexmk -xelatex -output-directory=out src/paper.tex

```

6. VS Code Integration

If using VS Code with LaTeX Workshop:

Common Document Templates

IEEE Conference Paper

```latex

\documentclass[conference]{IEEEtran}

\usepackage{ctex} % Chinese support

\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb,amsthm}

\usepackage{graphicx}

\usepackage{algorithm,algpseudocode}

\begin{document}

\title{Your Paper Title}

\author{...}

\maketitle

% Content here

\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}

\bibliography{refs}

\end{document}

```

Technical Report

```latex

\documentclass{article}

\usepackage{xeCJK} % Chinese support

\usepackage{geometry}

\usepackage{listings} % Code blocks

\usepackage{graphicx}

\geometry{a4paper,margin=2.5cm}

\begin{document}

% Content here

\end{document}

```

Important Notes

- `-synctex=1`: Enables source-PDF synchronization

- `-interaction=nonstopmode`: Continues on errors (useful for CI)

- `-file-line-error`: Shows errors with file/line format

Example Usage

**Scenario 1: Compile a conference paper with Chinese abstract**

```bash

Full build with bibliography

latexmk -xelatex -output-directory=out src/paper.tex

Check output

open out/paper.pdf # macOS

xdg-open out/paper.pdf # Linux

```

**Scenario 2: Quick draft iteration**

```bash

Fast single-pass compile

xelatex -output-directory=out -synctex=1 -interaction=nonstopmode src/paper.tex

```

**Scenario 3: Clean and rebuild from scratch**

```bash

Remove all build artifacts

latexmk -C -output-directory=out

Full rebuild

latexmk -xelatex -output-directory=out src/paper.tex

```